Project Grant 2613527

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: TOOLS FOR TEACHING AND ASSESSING VISUAL LITERACY IN BIOTECHNOLOGY -THIS PROJECT AIMS TO SERVE THE NATIONAL INTEREST BY STRENGTHENING UNDERGRADUATE BIOTECHNOLOGY EDUCATION THROUGH THE DEVELOPMENT OF STUDENTS? VISUAL LITERACY SKILLS, A CRITICAL COMPETENCY FOR INTERPRETING AND COMMUNICATING SCIENTIFIC INFORMATION. STUDENTS PREPARING FOR CAREERS IN BIOTECHNOLOGY, GENETICS, MOLECULAR BIOLOGY, AND RELATED FIELDS ROUTINELY ENCOUNTER VISUAL REPRESENTATIONS OF BIOLOGICAL STRUCTURES AND PROCESSES THAT ARE TOO SMALL OR COMPLEX TO OBSERVE DIRECTLY. YET VISUAL LITERACY IS OFTEN TREATED AS AN IMPLICIT EXPECTATION RATHER THAN AN EXPLICITLY TAUGHT SKILL. THIS PROJECT ADDRESSES THIS CHALLENGE BY DEVELOPING A FREE, OPEN-ACCESS VISUAL LITERACY TOOLKIT THAT WILL HELP INSTRUCTORS ASSESS AND SUPPORT STUDENTS? ABILITIES TO INTERPRET, EVALUATE, AND CREATE BIOTECHNOLOGY-RELATED VISUAL REPRESENTATIONS. THE TOOLKIT WILL INCLUDE A VALIDATED ASSESSMENT INSTRUMENT AND CLASSROOM-READY INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DESIGNED TO MAKE VISUAL LITERACY A MEASURABLE AND TEACHABLE LEARNING OUTCOME. THIS LEVEL 1 ENGAGED STUDENT LEARNING PROJECT ADVANCES THE GOALS OF THE IUSE PROGRAM BY CREATING EVIDENCE-BASED EDUCATIONAL TOOLS THAT CAN BE BROADLY ADOPTED ACROSS UNDERGRADUATE BIOLOGY AND BIOTECHNOLOGY COURSES. EXPECTED OUTCOMES INCLUDE IMPROVED STUDENT COMPETENCE AND CONFIDENCE IN SCIENTIFIC COMMUNICATION, ENHANCED LEARNING IN MOLECULAR BIOLOGY AND GENETICS COURSES, AND STRENGTHENED PREPARATION FOR BIOTECHNOLOGY-RELATED CAREERS. THE PROJECT WILL DEVELOP, VALIDATE, AND DISSEMINATE A VISUAL LITERACY TOOLKIT CONSISTING OF TWO INTEGRATED COMPONENTS: THE VISUAL LITERACY ASSESSMENT FOR BIOTECHNOLOGY (VLAB) AND A SUITE OF VISUAL LITERACY INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS (VLIMS). GUIDED BY THE CONCEPTUAL?REASONING?MODE (C-R-M) FRAMEWORK, THE RESEARCH TEAM WILL INVESTIGATE HOW UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS INTERPRET COMMON BIOTECHNOLOGY DIAGRAMS AND WHERE THEIR INTERPRETATIONS DIVERGE FROM INTENDED SCIENTIFIC MEANINGS. PROJECT GOALS INCLUDE IDENTIFYING COMMON VISUAL LITERACY CHALLENGES, DEVELOPING A RELIABLE AND VALID ASSESSMENT OF BIOTECHNOLOGY VISUAL LITERACY, AND CREATING INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS THAT ADDRESS DOCUMENTED LEARNING NEEDS. ASSESSMENT DEVELOPMENT WILL INCLUDE TEXTBOOK ANALYSES, EXPERT REVIEW, STUDENT THINK-ALOUD INTERVIEWS, PILOT TESTING, PSYCHOMETRIC ANALYSES, AND VALIDATION STUDIES. THE INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS WILL BE PILOTED AND REFINED THROUGH CLASSROOM IMPLEMENTATION AND INSTRUCTOR FEEDBACK. THE PROJECT WILL GENERATE NEW KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THE VISUAL REPRESENTATIONS THAT ARE MOST CHALLENGING FOR STUDENTS, THE MISCONCEPTIONS THAT PERSIST ACROSS INSTRUCTIONAL CONTEXTS, AND EFFECTIVE STRATEGIES FOR TEACHING VISUAL LITERACY AS A CORE SCIENTIFIC PRACTICE. RESULTS AND RESOURCES WILL BE DISSEMINATED NATIONALLY THROUGH ESTABLISHED EDUCATIONAL PLATFORMS, INCLUDING LEARNING ABOUT STEM STUDENT OUTCOMES (LASSO), QUANTITATIVE UNDERGRADUATE BIOLOGY EDUCATION AND SYNTHESIS (QUBES), AND CHEMISTRY INSTRUMENT, REVIEW AND ASSESSMENT LIBRARY (CHIRAL), AS WELL AS CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS, WORKSHOPS, AND PEER-REVIEWED PUBLICATIONS. THE NSF IUSE: EDU PROGRAM SUPPORTS RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS TO IMPROVE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF STEM EDUCATION FOR ALL STUDENTS. THROUGH THE ENGAGED STUDENT LEARNING TRACK, THE PROGRAM SUPPORTS THE CREATION, EXPLORATION, AND IMPLEMENTATION OF PROMISING PRACTICES AND TOOLS. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.- SUBAWARDS ARE NOT PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD.